It is the shortest of Mahler’s completed symphonies.

Mahler himself conducted the premiere of the Symphony No. 4 in Munich in 1901.

The second movement features a solo part for the violin tuned a tone higher than usual and played like a fiddle.

What is a symphony?

A symphony is a large scale musical piece for the orchestra in several movements.  

About the composer 

Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911) was a Bohemian-Austrian post-romantic composer, conductor and pianist. He was best known in his lifetime as a leading conductor and wrote nine symphonies including the Resurrection (No. 2), the Symphony of a Thousand (No. 8) as well as song cycles (lieder).

About the performers 

Read a biography of Sir Charles Mackerras
Read a biography of Sarah Fox

Orchestra Pick

Andrew Smith, Principal Timpani with the Philharmonia Orchestra enjoys playing Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and in particular the end of the third movement with its climax before the singer begins which is also the first time Mahler wrote double sticking (hitting the drums simultaneously with both sticks) in one of his pieces.